Thorpe wins fifth gold but not ready for seven
Adrian Warner
Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe won his fifth gold medal in the swimming pool on Friday but predicted his quest to earn a unique place in the 72-year history of the Commonwealth Games would fail in Manchester.
On a day of surprises, Thorpe kept up his campaign to win a record seven titles in one Games when he won the 100 freestyle title to join swimmer Mike Wenden and fencer Bill Hoskyns as the most successful male athletes at the Games with nine titles.
But the 19-year-old swimmer, who won four gold medals at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, said it was unlikely that he would win another three titles before Sunday's closing ceremony and become the most successful competitor with 11 titles.
The record is held by his compatriot Susie O'Neill who won 10 titles in swimming between 1990 and 1998 at the event which brings together 72 nations from the group of largely former British colonies.
After winning the 100 race in a personal best time of 48.73 seconds, Thorpe said he expected his winning run to come to an end in Saturday's 100 backstroke final where he qualified fourth fastest behind compatriot Matt Welsh, the world champion.
"I've never expected to win seven gold medals here," Thorpe said. "I'd like to, but I don't think it's going to happen. My only expectation is that I will swim to the best of my ability and if I do that then I'll be happy.
"Physically my body's starting to break down a little bit."
If Thorpe fails to win the backstroke, he will get another chance for gold in Sunday's 4x100 medley relay, where Australia are the hot favourites.
Six gold medals would equal the record for the most medals in one Games in any sport which was set by O'Neill in 1998 and Canadian swimmer Graham Smith in 1978.
Petria Thomas staked her claim for a place as one of the greats of Australian swimming when she won the women's 100 butterfly final to become the first female swimmer to win the same event at three consecutive Commonwealth Games.
South African amputee Natalie du Toit made history when she contested the 800 metres final against able-bodied swimmers.
The 18-year-old, who lost her left leg after a motorcycling accident, won the women's multi-disability 100 freestyle title but it was her last place finish in the 800 that left her beaming with pride.
KENYAN SURPRISE
The rugby union sevens began with superb performances from Kenya, who have a reputation for producing great distance runners but are not great achievers with the oval ball.
The Africans, who were defeated 71-0 by Fiji at the 1998 Games, produced the competition's first upset coming from behind to beat sixth-ranked Samoa 28-20.
Less than 90 minutes later they almost produced another shock when they led England 12-5 with only seconds remaining in the first half before former Kiwi rugby league international Henry Paul's incisive running led his side to a 33-12 victory.
Canadian Fred Asselin was cleared by the International Rugby Board (IRB) to play in the event after a doping infraction.
An IRB statement said the world governing body had not imposed a playing suspension but had severely reprimanded Asselin and warned him about his future conduct. Asselin inadvertently took a painkiller containing a banned substance.
New Zealand made a sensational start to their men's hockey semi-final against Pakistan, scoring twice at the outset to set up a 7-1 win over the former Olympic and World Cup champions.
It was New Zealand's first win over Pakistan. In Sunday's final they face Australia who beat South Africa 3-1.
